Clervaux Abbey

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Clervaux Abbey, officially the Abbey of Saint Maurice and Saint Maurus of Clervaux, is a Benedictine monastery in Clervaux, Luxembourg. It belongs to the Solesmes Congregation. The community comes from the Benedictine monastery of St. Maur in Glanfeuil, France. After the French Revolution, Glanfeuil was closed, and in 1890 monks from Solesmes began a new community in this region. Because of anti-clerical laws in France, they looked for a permanent home and chose Clervaux. In 1908 the monks decided to build a new monastery there. Construction, in Neo-Romanesque style by architect Johann Franz Klomp, began in 1909 and the monks moved in 1910. In 1926 the name Saint Maur was added to Saint Maurice. In 1937 the Holy See made the monastery a territorial abbey, independent from the local bishop, a status that lasted until 1946. During World War II, the Gestapo expelled the monks in 1941; they returned to the abbey in 1945. Today the monks live a quiet life according to the Rule of Saint Benedict, with daily prayer, the Eucharist, and work. They also help with church duties, retreats, and pastoral care, and they preserve Gregorian chant. The abbey has been linked with notable figures such as writer Halldór Laxness (who converted while staying there), monk-scholars like Dom Jean Leclercq, and liturgical composer Dom Paul Benoit.